Thought it’d be fun to share what everyone has been reading. I’ll try to include titles and authors to make finding more information on them easier as well as a brief synopsis and my thoughts.
I had a lot of travel this week and speed through “Children of Time” by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Great read with very interesting ideas and payoff that had me hooked. Covers human uplifting of other species, their development, and interactions afterwards.
I’ve also been working on “Strontium Dog” from 2000 A.D. comics (hey, it’s sci-fi and it’s printed) and made it through most of Vol. 3. In short, the main character Johnny Alpha is a mutant who’s only available employment is as a bounty hunter. Very fun read in general, although part of the main beats in this volume are sad.
Started a new novel and continued working on my audiobook but I’ll save my thoughts on that for next week / when I finish them.
way of kings by Brandon Sanderson📖
I’m currently reading Snow Crash. I got to the part where YT and Raven meet for the first time. Things have got pretty weird… I’m really enjoying the whole Sumerian mythology stuff, though.
Snow Crash is one of my favorite books. So much fun from beginning to end. Also one of the few books by Stephenson that has an unrushed ending.
Coasting through Caliban’s War in the Expanse series, planning on diving into book 11 of the Aubrey-Maturin series by Patrick O’Brian next.
I started and finished the first two Murderbot books from Martha Wells (All Systems Red, Artificial Condition). Reading the ebooks I didn’t realize how short they were until I got to near the end. I guess they count as novellas? But it’s nice to have something fun and easily digestible now and then so I’ll start the third tonight.
Children of Time was very good. There is a sequel, no? But I never read it.
Two sequels! I’ll get around to reading them but have a stack to read through first. The murderbot books have been my audiobook listening since they were in a humble bundle a few weeks ago. Got to the 5th one (network effect) and still enjoyable and engaging.
Made some progress on Malazan, book 9 (of 10). Still early, but we’re past the initial set up and now it’s clear everyone is heading off to the wastelands for some sort of showdown.
Amazing series. Very heavy read.
Yes! I’m on book 3, absolutely loving it. It’s at times dense as a brick but truly a epic story.
Well, not scifi but I read this book called Wages of Rebellion this week, by Chris Hedges. Good reminder of the atrocities and tyranny the US has committed globally and domestically, often in the name of capitalism.
In terms of scifi, I’d recommend A Canticle for Leibowitz, by Walter M. Miller Jr. It’s a collection of post apocalyptic stories set on a monastery in the desert that serves as the only source of preservation of material from the “old world.” Good themes in this one.
Been a long time since I read A Canticle for Leibowitz. Good book and should probably re-read it now.
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Tiamat’s Wrath, by James S.A. Corey. Trying to power theought the expanse series
Had a big day of travel so I read through all of Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. Some of the humor didn’t really land but overall it was great. Such a cool take on a first contact situation where the human and alien have no choice but to work together to save both their planets.
I’m revisiting my old friend Palmer Eldritch. It has been a long time, and I am thoroughly enjoying the familiarity. Kind of like going to mom’s house in your 40s and eating the same cookie recipe she has always made.
Joe Abercrombie’s First Law series. It’s decidedly not science fiction, but you gotta take a break sometimes. I’m enjoying it enough, but I do find the characters that were initially interesting are falling into some pretty tired tropes close to the end of the second book. Still, Abercrombie’s prose is super neat and readable.
That series is fire!
Yeah, I’m almost done the third book now and I’m having trouble putting it down. The tired tropes shook themselves out and got interesting again.
Finishing up the Foundation series by Asimov, with Foundation and Earth
Does this Noise in my Head Bother You? by Steven Tyler
That Hindeous Strength by C.S. Lewis. I’m almost done but the end is stretching. Really weird book but also enjoyable.
About 4 chapters into book 1 (Raft) of Xeelee Sequence. Not bad so far, but takes me a while to see if I’m liking a book or not.
Is this your first Baxter? I’m a little envious. Figuring out his physics+ scenarios are always fun. Usually they’re quite well conceived. Raft and Flux are two of my favourites.
It is! I’ve heard only good things about the series after hearing recommendations on the old site, so I decided to pick up Raft and see what all the fuss was about. After getting a general overview of the series, it seems right up my alley. Any other Baxter’s you’d recommend outside Xeelee Sequence?
I haven’t actually read anything outside of the Xeelee sequence. And even then I’m not 100% through Xeelee yet. I like to bounce around between authors frequently :)
I have particularly fond memories of the first four or five Xeelee books. In particular Raft (#1), Flux (#3), and Ring (#4). Timelike Infinity (book #2) sets the stage well for the universe at large and Flux (#3) almost seems like a regression until you start getting towards the end. But it really gets underway in Ring (#4) and you start to go “ooooh, this is why it’s called the Xeelee sequence”. At a minimum, I’d read those four in order to get a good handle on the series. Then, if you’re like me, read something else for a while and return. :)
Thank you so much! Excited to get into the series, and most likely will be following your advice about books 1-4.
The Empress of Salt and Fortune, a short novella by Nghi Vo. Some of the imagery is lovely and colourful. I’m expecting a journey but I’m finding there isn’t really one in this story.
